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Apartment renovations ideas

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  1. #1

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    Apartment renovations ideas

    Hi All,

    I have recently purchased a 900 sqft (net) 3 bedroom apartment in Discovery Bay.

    The place is 15 years old and I am contemplating to do the below. Can you please help with the questions I have also attached the floor plan.


    1. Floor tiles. the apartment has the typical wood-look brown paneling. I am thinking of either ceramic marble look tile or wood look tile in light colors which would make the apartment look bigger. The contractor has quoted be 75k including the Chinese tiles (medium quality). Another option is to go cheaper and use the vinyl adhesive tile/cover on the top of existing floor. Has anyone used this ? I am not sure about how this would look like.


    2. Kitchen cabinet: Mongkok carpenter has quoted 50k for cabinets and marble top. The quality is medium. Here I have 2 other options. To go for Ikea (I can wait if they have delay)- do they have good quality kitchen cabinets with good durable material? would be be much cheaper than the 50k I have been quoted? Other option is to just let the current cabinets and again use the cabinet adhesive tape/paper to some shiny white exterior- any opinions on these?

    3. customized wardrobes with sliding door: have been quoted 50k for the 3 wardrobes in bedroom. Again Ikea might be an option but I am nit sure if they would have good quality? there usual wardrobe material is not good. Any experiences here?? is the quote of 50k reasonable?


    4. Washroom: Remove bathtub- change to shower room and change vanity and bathroom tiles. 55k for each and 110k total. Is this quote reasonable for a medium quality material?

    5. bedroom space saving tips: As you can see the 2 bedrooms (other then master bedroom are very small). I have the following requirement (for my kids to use these). 1 bedroom need to have a bunk bed of 120 cm by 200 cm size, a wardrobe and a small study desk (is possible). the second bedroom needs to have a 130 cm by 300 cm bed, wardrobe and a study desk. I am thinking to change the doors to sliding doors to save space. Any other suggestions on how to get a layout for these rooms? any other tips

    6. window AC to Splits: the bedrooms have window ACs and I am quite fedup with the noise. I really want to get these changed to split types. I have been quotes 15k per room (including the cost of Split and installation) by teh contractor. Any suggestions here?


    Many Thanks for your help!


  2. #2

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    You can afford to buy a 900sqft place but stingy on the renovation and furniture... Dunno how to help you.

    JAherbert and ramelec like this.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by D.YU:
    You can afford to buy a 900sqft place but stingy on the renovation and furniture... Dunno how to help you.
    Our first reno was just flat out simple.. Paint, electrical wiring and appliances and bathroom and kitchen. Almost all of our cash was tied up in the down-payment and closing costs.

    Not everyone is a baller...

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by D.YU:
    You can afford to buy a 900sqft place but stingy on the renovation and furniture... Dunno how to help you.
    I paid the 20% down payment and I don't really have a lot of cash left for the renovations. Additionally, the quotes from contractors point to a lot of profit taking.

    i would really appreciate if the effort is focused on the actual help and not on making judgmental comments. thanks

  5. #5

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    @shri any tips on the questions i asked


  6. #6

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    for some initial ideas..

    Hard for me to type on my mobile will drop some random notes over the next day.


  7. #7

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    Okay okay. I apologize for the comment.

    My 2 cents: dont cheap out of fixed finishing. Either keep the existing flooring/tiles, or go with actual replacement instead of vinyl overlays. Unless you are flipping the place within 2 years, I would shy away from that option.

    50k for a wardrobe is ridiculous. You could customize a wardrobe at Ikea for 5-10k depending on size and design. However, keep in mind Ikea wardrobes are not built to last or built to "relocate". It cannot be dismantled without damaging the structural integrity. It will last at least 5 to 10 years.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by D.YU:
    Okay okay. I apologize for the comment.

    My 2 cents: dont cheap out of fixed finishing. Either keep the existing flooring/tiles, or go with actual replacement instead of vinyl overlays. Unless you are flipping the place within 2 years, I would shy away from that option.

    50k for a wardrobe is ridiculous. You could customize a wardrobe at Ikea for 5-10k depending on size and design. However, keep in mind Ikea wardrobes are not built to last or built to "relocate". It cannot be dismantled without damaging the structural integrity. It will last at least 5 to 10 years.
    thanks. Yes I am also inclined to change floors as the first priority. i dont like that brown colored wood look like old floor.

    for ikea, do they offer better quality wardrobes for in-build customized wardrobes? same goes for kitchen cabinets?

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by D.YU:
    You can afford to buy a 900sqft place but stingy on the renovation and furniture... Dunno how to help you.
    The mentioned renovation cost are 300.000 HKD so its not peanuts..... so who will not like to save 50 or 100.000 ....

  10. #10

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    We had a split AC installed a couple years back. Involved digging a channel in the wall to put in the piping, across two walls of the bedroom. Cost was about 5K to do this, and ~6K for the AC, iirc.

    This was for a split where the external unit was low enough profile to install in the space occupied by a window type AC, so no scaffolding required (scaffolding is expensive).

    I looked at flooring at the same time. I really disliked vinyl floor tiles, because they were hard AF and uncomfortable to walk or stand on. But if you're considering ceramic tiles (which are even harder and less comfortable) then I guess this isn't a concern.

    Wood, engineered wood, and even plastic laminates over MDF/HDF are all more comfortable than ceramic or vinyl.


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